Plan solves deer issue through sterilization

Published: Saturday, June 1, 2013 at 4:14 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, June 1, 2013 at 4:14 p.m.

Early next year, officials on Bald Head Island will try a new method of controlling the white-tailed deer population: using contraceptives to sterilize does.

"This drug requires two inoculations, and then they're sterile forever," said Suzanne Dorsey, executive director of the Bald Head Island Conservancy. "It's got over a 90 percent success rate in sterilizing the deer with two doses."

Deer population control is crucial for Bald Head, as the animals can wreak havoc on the maritime forests that anchor and protect the island from storms. The conservancy received a permit from the state Wildlife Resources Commission and will be the first community in North Carolina to implement the non-lethal management program. The six-year project will serve as a test case to determine whether it could work in other places.

"We're really testing this to see if it will work, and if so, how well it works," said David Cobb, chief of the Division of Wildlife Management for the commission. "Bald Head is, for the most part, a closed population. The deer don't leave, so that's where this really needs to be tested."

The first phase of the project begins in January, when bait stations will be placed around the island and dart guns will be used to anesthetize does that come to feed. Those deer – 30, out of 74 females on the island – will be tagged and treated with GonaCon, a contraceptive developed by the federal Department of Agriculture. Those does will receive a booster shot the second year, rendering them permanently sterile. The drug is not hormonal and poses no risk to humans snacking on venison, though it's unlikely that Bald Head's deer would ever be harvested for meat.

"But let's say a hunter were to take one of our deer," Dorsey said. "It would have a tag explaining it was treated, but even then, it's an immunocontraceptive that affects the deer's ability to get pregnant. It's not hormonal. It's much less invasive than the antibiotics that the agriculture industry uses."

A smaller number of does will receive the contraceptive in each successive year, allowing the island to maintain its deer population without letting it explode. In 2015, for example, officials will boost the 30 deer from the first year and inoculate 15 new females. The next year, those 15 will receive the booster and 12 new does will get their first dose. Costs will decrease as well, dropping from $50,000 the first year to $15,000 by 2018.

"We don't have to anesthetize them for the second dose, so the price goes way down," Dorsey said. "With the technology changing so rapidly, that budget is really fluid, but we think it will be less than $20,000 by the third year."

Previously, officials kept the white-tailed population in check via a semi-annual cull, where trained sharpshooters would hunt and kill a specific number of deer. Their carcasses were sent to an off-site meat processing center, and the venison was later distributed by Hunters for the Hungry, a nonprofit that provides venison to impoverished populations in Virginia.

While the charity aspect of the cull program was well received, some Bald Head residents had qualms about the hunt.

"The community has struggled, with some people feeling very strongly that lethal management is inhumane and others feeling strongly that non-lethal management doesn't work or is too costly," Dorsey said. "What has evolved over time is an approach where there's private funding for non-lethal management."

The project is funded entirely by donations, given through the conservancy and led by Friends of Deer, a group formed and run by Bald Head residents. That structure helps mitigate some of the controversy surrounding the non-lethal method, Dorsey said.

"Our primary management is protecting our forest, but we also care very much about our deer population. We certainly don't want to eliminate them, but we want to control it," she said. "How you manage it has been the controversy. We want to make sure we're humane and ethical."

<p>Early next year, officials on Bald Head Island will try a new method of controlling the white-tailed deer population: using contraceptives to sterilize does.</p><p>"This drug requires two inoculations, and then they're sterile forever," said Suzanne Dorsey, executive director of the Bald Head Island Conservancy. "It's got over a 90 percent success rate in sterilizing the deer with two doses."</p><p>Deer population control is crucial for Bald Head, as the animals can wreak havoc on the maritime forests that anchor and protect the island from storms. The conservancy received a permit from the state Wildlife Resources Commission and will be the first community in North Carolina to implement the non-lethal management program. The six-year project will serve as a test case to determine whether it could work in other places.</p><p>"We're really testing this to see if it will work, and if so, how well it works," said David Cobb, chief of the Division of Wildlife Management for the commission. "Bald Head is, for the most part, a closed population. The deer don't leave, so that's where this really needs to be tested."</p><p>The first phase of the project begins in January, when bait stations will be placed around the island and dart guns will be used to anesthetize does that come to feed. Those deer – 30, out of 74 females on the island – will be tagged and treated with GonaCon, a contraceptive developed by the federal Department of Agriculture. Those does will receive a booster shot the second year, rendering them permanently sterile. The drug is not hormonal and poses no risk to humans snacking on venison, though it's unlikely that Bald Head's deer would ever be harvested for meat.</p><p>"But let's say a hunter were to take one of our deer," Dorsey said. "It would have a tag explaining it was treated, but even then, it's an immunocontraceptive that affects the deer's ability to get pregnant. It's not hormonal. It's much less invasive than the antibiotics that the agriculture industry uses."</p><p>A smaller number of does will receive the contraceptive in each successive year, allowing the island to maintain its deer population without letting it explode. In 2015, for example, officials will boost the 30 deer from the first year and inoculate 15 new females. The next year, those 15 will receive the booster and 12 new does will get their first dose. Costs will decrease as well, dropping from $50,000 the first year to $15,000 by 2018.</p><p>"We don't have to anesthetize them for the second dose, so the price goes way down," Dorsey said. "With the technology changing so rapidly, that budget is really fluid, but we think it will be less than $20,000 by the third year."</p><p>Previously, officials kept the white-tailed population in check via a semi-annual cull, where trained sharpshooters would hunt and kill a specific number of deer. Their carcasses were sent to an off-site meat processing center, and the venison was later distributed by Hunters for the Hungry, a nonprofit that provides venison to impoverished populations in Virginia.</p><p>While the charity aspect of the cull program was well received, some Bald Head residents had qualms about the hunt.</p><p>"The community has struggled, with some people feeling very strongly that lethal management is inhumane and others feeling strongly that non-lethal management doesn't work or is too costly," Dorsey said. "What has evolved over time is an approach where there's private funding for non-lethal management."</p><p>The project is funded entirely by donations, given through the conservancy and led by Friends of Deer, a group formed and run by Bald Head residents. That structure helps mitigate some of the controversy surrounding the non-lethal method, Dorsey said.</p><p>"Our primary management is protecting our forest, but we also care very much about our deer population. We certainly don't want to eliminate them, but we want to control it," she said. "How you manage it has been the controversy. We want to make sure we're humane and ethical."</p><p><i></p><p>Kate Elizabeth Queram: 343-2217</p><p>On <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/news41"><b>Twitter</b></a>: @kate_goes_bleu</i></p>